Book
Regulating Competition in the Digital Network Industry
Cambridge University Press recently published the book Regulating Competition in the Digital Network Industry by Jasper van den Boom, Assistant Professor of EU competition law at the Europa Institute of Leiden University. The book introduces a new analytical framework for understanding competition in the digital economy and appears at a time when regulators worldwide are struggling with the growing market power of large technology companies.
- Author
- Jasper van den Boom
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Links
- Regulating Competition in the Digital Network Industry
Where existing regulation—such as the European Digital Markets Act—focuses on specific platforms or markets, Van den Boom argues that this perspective is too narrow. In the book, he introduces the concept of the “digital network industry”: an overarching perspective that places the interconnections between digital ecosystems, rather than individual markets, at the center of analysis. Companies such as Apple, Google, and Meta do not compete solely within a single market, but through their entire ecosystems of products, services, and user data. Anyone who looks only at separate markets misses the core of how digital power is built up and sustained.
Based on this analysis, Van den Boom proposes a new regulatory model: “progressive ecosystem regulation.” This model categorizes ecosystem operators according to their market position and imposes the most stringent obligations on the largest, most entrenched players—precisely to create space for new, potentially disruptive entrants. The ultimate goal is not to punish success, but to keep the digital market structurally open to innovation and fair competition. The book therefore represents a timely and valuable contribution to a debate that is becoming increasingly urgent in Brussels, London, and Washington, DC.